• Get Everything You Need to Secure a Training Contract
    Now half the price. Join TCLA Premium for £30/month and get step-by-step application support, daily commercial awareness practice, and 700+ successful examples of past applications and interview experiences. Plus so much more.
    Join Premium →
  • Ask Withers Anything! (Live Q&A)
    17 Nov 2025 10:00 am – 12:00 pm (UK) Hosted on TCLA Forum
    Chat with Withers' graduate recruitment team and ask about life at the firm, secondment opportunities, and what it's like to be a trainee. Simply return to this page on the day to post your questions.
  • SQE Student Panel with BPP
    19 Nov 2025 6:00 pm – 7:00 pm (UK) Zoom (registration required)
    Join us for a live student panel with BPP University Law School. We'll be joined by Jonny Hurst, Senior Lecturer in Law at BPP, and current BPP students who will share their advice on passing the SQE.
    Register on Zoom →

TCLA Vacation Scheme Applications Discussion Thread 2025-26

noahsmiit01

Distinguished Member
Dec 9, 2024
59
45
HL pfo post initial test (for WVS). Really starting to hate this move to SJT style assessments. Losing hope now :(
Spending so much time on those 2 stages... before they even read your application, so then getting rejected is so []. Hence, US firms are better at this, as most of them review your application personally and, only then, if successful, invite you to the next stage nvm about doing 2 tests for HL that contained SJT + WG + VI, and then a document-scanning exercise. It's not even a magic firm, either. Feels like way too much.
 
Last edited by a moderator:

safari3

Distinguished Member
Mar 28, 2024
53
60
Hi, how would you approach this question:
1. What impact do you want to make at CMS?
Word Count (Max 200 words):
Thanks.
This has already been asked in the forum a couple of times so I would recommend you search 'CMS' to see previous responses. Ultimately, a good approach is to use the Q to demonstrate your knowledge of the firm. Talk about any area of the firm that you can link to your own skills and experience and then talk about how you would continue to develop this (and subsequently make an impact) as a trainee at CMS.
 

AP2000

Distinguished Member
  • Feb 22, 2021
    64
    114
    Did anybody do the Bird and Bird virtual open day? I applied for their STEM one and the deadline is tomorrow. I was wondering if anybody who was successful with the trainee solicitor open day heard before the deadline or if all invites were sent out day of/after?
    Hey, I received the invite one week before the open day, so don't worry! I applied very early too, so I would imagine they only send invites after the deadline. In fact, for all four open days I've attended so far I only heard back a week - max two before the actual event.
     

    lawschool123

    Well-Known Member
    May 17, 2024
    21
    28
    Hi, I attended a DLA Piper talk and grad rec mentioned that for the CV there's no need to include an education section because the online form will ask for grades anyway. She also mentioned having a brief introduction (but I might have misheard this). Is it alright to still stick to the standard format for CVs (i.e. with an education section and without including an introduction)?
     
    • ℹ️
    Reactions: Abbie Whitlock and floral.tcla

    Goingtogetatc

    Active Member
    Aug 13, 2025
    11
    22
    This has already been asked in the forum a couple of times so I would recommend you search 'CMS' to see previous responses. Ultimately, a good approach is to use the Q to demonstrate your knowledge of the firm. Talk about any area of the firm that you can link to your own skills and experience and then talk about how you would continue to develop this (and subsequently make an impact) as a trainee at CMS.
    Thank you very much!
     
    • Like
    Reactions: safari3

    About Us

    The Corporate Law Academy (TCLA) was founded in 2018 because we wanted to improve the legal journey. We wanted more transparency and better training. We wanted to form a community of aspiring lawyers who care about becoming the best version of themselves.

    Newsletter

    Discover the most relevant business news, access our law firm analysis, and receive our best advice for aspiring lawyers.